Another S**t stirring article in The Independent today !

[DonnyL]

I like Mike Love and I think he's really just doing things the way he has always done ... in some ways, he has more integrity than any other member. he's really a straight-shooter. He's a talented songwriter & a super great singer. The group would never have become what they were and are without him.

But really, this is going to be perceived as a 'dick move'; there's no way around it. And it kind of is (regardless of how long it's been planned).

In my fantasy, I position Mike as something of a Royal Tennenbaum:

Mike: "I've always been considered an asshole for about as long as I can remember. That's just my style. But I'd really feel blue if I didn't think you were going to forgive me."

Brian: "I don't think you're an asshole, Mike. I just think you're kind of a son of a bitch."

MIke: "Well, I really appreciate that."

[Justin]

Mike is the only one qualified, mentally and physically? 

Well Mike is featured as the lead vocalist on many Beach Boys songs (mainly the hits)...I see that as a fair point for him to bare the BB name.  Who else except Brian would really deserve the name?  Al?...seriously?

[SMiLE Brian]

Brian has more clout and respect to go by the BBs name than Mike will ever have.

[bossaroo]

Now, after what, a five month tour, boy, has he changed his tune. This Beach Boys thing IS PRETTY GOOD isn't it? What happened to that "Mike has his thing, The Beach Boys, and I have my thing, my solo career". If I was Mike, I would resent it.

I agree.  I'd imagine it must be very awkward for Mike to now open the door to everyone to permanently stay when it was mainly him (and Bruce) who's carried the Beach Boys banner for this long.  Considering the way they tour is significantly different than how this mega reunion tour went---I just don't see how Mike could have handled this any other way right now.  

Mike should be willing to open the door because they are playing major halls and stadiums to massive crowds. They are hitting number 3 on Billboard and getting glowing reviews from most every publication and critic. Oh and they are FAMILY and they have REUNITED. Like Brian said the current lineup "are the real Beach Boys."

if you really think Mike & Bruce have "carried the banner" so wonderfully and respectfully that's your opinion, but most people would say that Mike's treatment of The Beach Boys name has been careless and self-serving and turned them into an oldies band and something of a laughingstock. He introduced cheerleaders to the live show. He strutted his stuff on Full House and Baywatch. He continues to treat Kokomo and John Stamos like they are the best thing that ever happened to the group. He has settled for playing county fairs and casinos, and now he has cut the magnificent reunion tour short so he & Bruce can play a rodeo in Waco.

call me crazy but WHAT THE F*CK??!!!

[Pretty Funky]

Oh God! We are back to the old Beach Boys name debate.Yawn..... I'm out of this one.

[bossaroo]

Mike is the only one qualified, mentally and physically? 

Well Mike is featured as the lead vocalist on many Beach Boys songs (mainly the hits)...I see that as a fair point for him to bare the BB name.  Who else except Brian would really deserve the name?  Al?...seriously?

Nobody is saying Brian or Al should have the name instead of Mike. They are saying Brian, Mike, Al, Dave, and Bruce should have the name.

[Sheriff John Stone]

He's the only one who ever WANTED The Beach Boys name??!!! Didn't Al try to use it and get sued and shot down?

Yes, Al tried to USE it. And that makes all the difference.

Whether you agree that Mike & Bruce are good representatives of "The Beach Boys" when they tour - and I believe I already know how you feel about that - you have to agree that Mike's intention with the license was to BE The Beach Boys. And, not that you care or agree, but I think he (and Bruce) have been successful with that. To the thousands of fans they perform in front of each year, they are The Beach Boys.

I don't think Al, along with his family and Friends - and WITHOUT Mike's voice and stage presence and Bruce (another Beach Boy) - could ever pull it off. And that's not a knock on Al's shows; he puts on a fine show. People think Mike's tarnishing the legacy. Just think how it would've been with just Al and family claiming to be The Beach Boys over the last 15 years.

I'm tired. I'm going to listen to "Moon River" and go to sleep.

[Bill Ed]

Now, after what, a five month tour, boy, has he changed his tune. This Beach Boys thing IS PRETTY GOOD isn't it? What happened to that "Mike has his thing, The Beach Boys, and I have my thing, my solo career". If I was Mike, I would resent it.

I agree.  I'd imagine it must be very awkward for Mike to now open the door to everyone to permanently stay when it was mainly him (and Bruce) who's carried the Beach Boys banner for this long.  Considering the way they tour is significantly different than how this mega reunion tour went---I just don't see how Mike could have handled this any other way right now. 

Yes, Mike and Bruce have for many year "carried the Beach Boys banner" to county fairs and birthday parties both far and wide.

I believe the Beach Boys are now important for their catalog of recorded music.

By the way, who could Al, Brian, and David find to replace Bruce and Mike? Does Bruce need to be replaced at all? I'm sure Brian's band members could take some lead lead vocals, but if they want a big "name" who would be good?

[bossaroo]

The Beach Boys are about beautiful voices, amazing songwriting, and a somewhat wholesome image...


Al still sounds like he's 20. Mike's voice is basically shot.

Al's setlist is truly diverse and includes deeper cuts that the true Beach Boys fan loves and appreciates. Mike sticks with mainly pre-66 material and Kokomo.

Al's stage presence is open and friendly, Mike's is macho and creepy.


I dunno, I think we'd be a lot better off with Al in charge since Carl's passing.

[Heysaboda]

Seriously, if the Mike & Bruce show resume doing dates, I think that's great.  Smaller venues, cheaper productions, smaller footprint.  Nothing wrong with any of that.

Then, after that I will hope for a "second reunion" with the big group.

It's all good, as Dylan says.

ALSO, Mike and Brian really need to sit down in a studio for 6 weeks, come up with 18 songs on their own.  It would boggle everyone's mind and make SMiLe look like scheisst!

The Boys need to spend more time in the studio!  Rehearse, Boys!  Rehearse, Daddy-o!

[Pretty Funky]

Now, after what, a five month tour, boy, has he changed his tune. This Beach Boys thing IS PRETTY GOOD isn't it? What happened to that "Mike has his thing, The Beach Boys, and I have my thing, my solo career". If I was Mike, I would resent it.

I agree.  I'd imagine it must be very awkward for Mike to now open the door to everyone to permanently stay when it was mainly him (and Bruce) who's carried the Beach Boys banner for this long.  Considering the way they tour is significantly different than how this mega reunion tour went---I just don't see how Mike could have handled this any other way right now. 

By the way, who could Al, Brian, and David find to replace Bruce and Mike? Does Bruce need to be replaced at all? I'm sure Brian's band members could take some lead lead vocals, but if they want a big "name" who would be good?

Stick a hat on Johnny and nobody would even notice!

[Heysaboda]

Here's another one from The Daily Mail (trash tabloid?):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2208817/Youre-fired-Three-Beach-Boys-founding-members-dumped-bands-frontman-Mike-Love.html

Being is it's the Daily Mail, I presume they put the blame either on Muslims, the BBC, gays,or liberals.

good starting point......

Liberals are a good starting point!

I blame Phil for all this.  Didn't he predict this?

[Justin]

Yes, Mike and Bruce have for many year "carried the Beach Boys banner" to county fairs and birthday parties both far and wide.

  

Tell me, how much did those county fair gigs really bother you when you watched all 5 BB on tour this past summer? Didn't bother me in the slightest--nor did it enter my mind.  Not sure it makes the show any less enjoyable. What's the difference what Mike/Bruce do when the reunion is on hiatus?  We just saw for ourselves how much it "tarnished' their legacy.  This summer was proof that the fans were there for the reunion regardless what county fairs and casino gigs Mike and Bruce have done.  Every show was a sellout and the whole thing was a complete success.  It doesn't matter what Mike does with his own band---the next reunion will be met with the same kind of hype and success both from fans and the media. 

[bossaroo]

I don't see how anyone can just be OK with things going back to the way they were before the reunion. Until the next reunion comes along? The Beach Boys are finally being taken seriously again. Brian is at the helm in the studio and they are topping the charts for the first time in decades. There should be no turning back.


Mike says it's not wise to "over-saturate" the market but he wants to keep touring as The Beach Boys in the meantime?

MAKES NO F*CKING SENSE.

[Bill Ed]

Yes, Mike and Bruce have for many year "carried the Beach Boys banner" to county fairs and birthday parties both far and wide.

  

Tell me, how much did those county fair gigs really bother you when you watched all 5 BB on tour this past summer?  . . .  It doesn't matter what Mike does with his own band---the next reunion will be met with the same kind of hype and success both from fans and the media. 

I didn't get to see any shows from the summer tour. They didn't play in my neck of the woods.

And Mike's "own band" is called the "Beach Boys".

I'm sorry about your eye problem. You need to see a good neurologist as soon as possible. 

[Justin]

I don't see how anyone can just be OK with things going back to the way they were before the reunion. Until the next reunion comes along? The Beach Boys are finally being taken seriously again. Brian is at the helm in the studio and they are topping the charts for the first time in decades. There should be no turning back.


Mike says it's not wise to "over-saturate" the market but he wants to keep touring as The Beach Boys in the meantime?

MAKES NO F*CKING SENSE.

Well, I don't really care who or what takes the band "seriously" at this point anymore.  I know what this band's about and I don't need them to stay together to prove anything to me, they've already sold me---even with the separate camps on the road throughout the years.  Obviously: that's just me. 

I'd love for them to continue on but I just don't see how it's that easy when it's never been a secret how complicated things can become when you deal with Brian and/or his people.  Why would Mike willingly take that on permanently? Legacy, schmegacy.  I don't see Mike wanting to be near that any longer than he's agreed to be. 

[ivy]

The most ridiculous comments are coming from the know people who think they know about the Beach Boys because they read the blurbs on the Rolling Stone/NME/Pitchfork lists. People who are content to accept an opinion and adopt it as their own. AKA the worst people.

So most of the comments from Al and David's pages have been removed? Is this old news? Any word on why?

[Nicko1234]

The Beach Boys are about beautiful voices, amazing songwriting, and a somewhat wholesome image...


Al still sounds like he's 20. Mike's voice is basically shot.

Al's setlist is truly diverse and includes deeper cuts that the true Beach Boys fan loves and appreciates. Mike sticks with mainly pre-66 material and Kokomo.

Al's stage presence is open and friendly, Mike's is macho and creepy.


I dunno, I think we'd be a lot better off with Al in charge since Carl's passing.

That is utter nonsense. If you look at the setlists that Al played since 1998 you will see that the vast majority contain almost exclusively the hits. Take a look at the track listing on his Live in Las Vegas CD for proof.

The Mike and Bruce shows vary according to the venue. For the casino and county fair shows they play the hits and for the theatre shows they often play some deeper cuts. I`m happy to say that I`ve heard them play Forever, Til I Die, Let Him Run Wild, Kiss Me Baby, Wendy, All this is That, Sail on Sailor, Please Let me Wonder, Disney Girls, Everyone`s in Love With You etc.

[KittyKat]

I thought I read (an accurate?) quote from Mike Love that he would like to record another Beach Boys' album - if he could write some songs with Brian. Not ALL the songs (if I remember correctly), but SOME songs. Wouldn't that be considered continuing the reunion?

Also, if Brian, Al, and David continued touring with Mike & Bruce immediately after the scheduled reunion dates, where would they get the money to pay everyone? You would know better than me, aren't the performance fees for the upcoming Mike & Bruce shows already contractually agreed upon? And, you would know this better than anyone, would David agree to play with Mike & Bruce at a substantially lower pay than he is getting for the reunion shows? And, do you know how David would feel if a guitar player would get "bumped" if David joined the Mike & Bruce band for the upcoming shows?

Its my understanding that more offers became available for more reunion shows, so instead of stopping at say 75, they had offers for 10 or 20 more or something...more dates tacked on to the reunion tour...but these were turned down because Mike chose/planned/contracted to return to his pre-reunion set-up and his own bookings. I really don't know the motivation or details, just the generality that there were more reunion lineup offers left on the table, and from my impression Brian, Al and Dave were up for keeping it going, but Mike was not. Again i only have a general knowledge that this was the case, but no specifics as to how, why, where etc... And yes, Mike has said he'd like to record and write more with Brian, so hopefully that means with the five of them together.

From my "Limited Inside Knowledge", there is another reason (not to do with money, control, ego, power........), that no one has hit on, why Mike wants/likes to play these smaller venues not appropriate for the full Reunion band.  That's all I can say.

I know what it is,  the key phrase is "hit on," right?  Mike wants to score more babes at the gigs and he's too far away from the front row in the bigger venues to make eye contact with the best ladies.  With apologies to Mrs. Mike.  (just kidding, I think)

[bossaroo]

The Beach Boys are about beautiful voices, amazing songwriting, and a somewhat wholesome image...


Al still sounds like he's 20. Mike's voice is basically shot.

Al's setlist is truly diverse and includes deeper cuts that the true Beach Boys fan loves and appreciates. Mike sticks with mainly pre-66 material and Kokomo.

Al's stage presence is open and friendly, Mike's is macho and creepy.


I dunno, I think we'd be a lot better off with Al in charge since Carl's passing.

That is utter nonsense. If you look at the setlists that Al played since 1998 you will see that the vast majority contain almost exclusively the hits. Take a look at the track listing on his Live in Las Vegas CD for proof.

The Mike and Bruce shows vary according to the venue. For the casino and county fair shows they play the hits and for the theatre shows they often play some deeper cuts. I`m happy to say that I`ve heard them play Forever, Til I Die, Let Him Run Wild, Kiss Me Baby, Wendy, All this is That, Sail on Sailor, Please Let me Wonder, Disney Girls, Everyone`s in Love With You etc.

about half of what you listed is pre-66. Al played things like California Saga, Honkin Down the Highway, Wild Honey, Breakaway, Vegetables,  Girl Don't Tell Me, and didn't seem to tailor his set to the type of venue.

[Lonely Summer]

I think the best we can hope for is a 60th anniversary reunion in 2022.

[debonbon]

I don't see them getting back together after this, it would probably years if they did and by that time Brian would likely be retiring from the road. Who knows really but I just don't see it.

[Nicko1234]

about half of what you listed is pre-66. Al played things like California Saga, Honkin Down the Highway, Wild Honey, Breakaway, Vegetables,  Girl Don't Tell Me, and didn't seem to tailor his set to the type of venue.

6 songs and one of them is on the greatest hits albums. Wow.

Wipe the rapid foam from your mouth before you type. You are right that Al is comfortably the best singer of the remaining BBs. A valid point. But when half the stuff you right is clearly guff then it detracts from the rest of your posts.

[runnersdialzero]

PUH-PUH-PUH-POKUH-FACE
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PUH PUH PUH PUH PUH PUH
PUH PUH PUH PUH PUH
(PUH PUH PUH PUH)

[Shady]

You know the Beach Boys are making news when they're the first topic brought up in your journalism class..

I have a lot to say on this!